RFI for AI Enabled Accessibility Tooling

DOL currently lacks a robust, methodical capability for capturing Section 508 conformance status or accessibility risk across its digital properties. DOL is considering addressing this gap by providing DOL personnel — including developers, quality assurance testers, and the Section 508 Program Office — with the tools, guidance, and data necessary to identify, prioritize, and remediate accessibility defects independently and systematically.

DOL has deep expertise using enterprise-class, rules-based automated accessibility scanning tools. DOL understands that these tools are useful, but we are seeking information specifically on tools that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to supplement complement accessibility testing and remediation efforts.  

The results of this RFI will be for informational purposes which may or may not result in a future procurement. 

Requirement Description

We are seeking tools that provide the following capability:

Core Tooling Capabilities 

The contractor shall provide a solution that includes, at a minimum, the following capabilities: 

• Automated Accessibility Scanning and Testing — The solution shall perform automated scanning of in-scope digital assets to identify Section 508 / WCAG 2.1 A & AA accessibility defects. 

• Guided Manual Accessibility Testing — The solution shall provide structured workflows to support semi-automated and manual accessibility testing by QA testers, developers, and Section 508 Program Office personnel. 

• Document Remediation and Tagging Assistance — The solution shall support remediation of non-web content, including PDF tagging, reading order correction, and remediation of content authored in Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 applications. DOL prefers an automated solution where feasible, or a solution that enables DOL personnel to perform remediation independently without reliance on recurring contractor services. 

• Code Review and Repair Suggestions — The solution shall provide developers with actionable, code-level remediation guidance sufficient to understand and resolve identified accessibility defects. 

• Chatbot or Copilot Capability for Section 508 Guidance — The solution shall include a conversational AI or copilot capability that provides DOL personnel with on-demand Section 508 and WCAG guidance. 

• Dashboards and Compliance Analytics — The solution shall provide dashboards and analytics capabilities including: issue counts and severity by application and digital property; remediation progress over time; conformance scores per digital asset; and historical trend reporting. The solution shall support exportable reporting in standard formats (e.g., PDF, CSV) for audit and leadership briefing purposes. 

• Accessibility Training and Embedded Authoring Assistance — The solution shall include role-based training resources and/or embedded authoring guidance. See Section 9.0 for detailed training requirements.

Assets in Scope

• Public-facing websites and web applications (primary CMS: Drupal) 

• Internal websites and web applications 

• Web applications built on the Appian platform 

• Web applications built on the Salesforce platform 

• PDF documents — testing and remediation, including tagging and reading order 
• Web pages authored in Microsoft SharePoint
• Non-Web Content (i.e., Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint documents)

Additional Requirements

• Mandatory AI Capability. The proposed solution must incorporate AI-enabled capabilities as a core functional component. Solutions that do not include AI-enabled testing, remediation guidance, or workflow assistance will not be considered. Legacy rule-based scanning tools without AI integration do not meet this requirement.
• AI-Enabled Actions. The solution shall support AI-assisted and, where authorized by the Government, automated actions including remediation, modification of source files, and publishing workflows. 

Industry Feedback

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only to obtain industry’s feedback on the anticipated scope of work, potential cost and performance risks as well as any other related considerations.

Business Information

Vendors, please provide the following information for your business using the provided numbering:

1. Company Name
2. Telephone Number
3. Email Address
4. Point of Contact for further clarification or questions
5. Business Size and/or Small Business Socio-Economic status (if relevant)
6. Any Best In Class Vehicle (BIC) (Any GSA contract vehicle, Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC etc.).

Questions

Please respond to the following questions or prompts.

Please respond to the following questions or prompts.

Configuration

1. 1. Provide an estimated timeline for the complete installation and operationalization of the proposed software solution, including all phases from initial deployment through system acceptance testing and full operational capability (FOC). Identify any dependencies, prerequisites, or vendor/government responsibilities that may affect the timeline.
   2. Please describe your approach to AI Model interoperability. If your AI-enabled tool is interoperable with a certain model (i.e., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek), can your solution be configured to be interoperable with government-approved models?
   3. How can users save/access/search/retrieve/share content within the tools?
   4. What level of configuration is necessary to successfully maintain the tool within the DOL environment and ensure that software updates are delivered in a timely manner? Please describe any dependencies.
   5. What should DOL’s expectation for uptime be? If downtime occurs, please describe your recovery and resolution processes.
   6. What are the system/infrastructure requirements for deployment?

Pricing

1. What is an estimated cost (can be a range) or “rough order of magnitude” to implement and run your solution in an organization equivalent to DOL? What factors are used to calculate this estimate?
2. Are the costs for purchase/licensing of the software separate from the costs for AI token usage? Or is the cost of AI requests and actions included in your pricing?

Accessibility

1. How does the AI component enhance detection beyond traditional rule-based scanning?
2. How are testing algorithms, rulesets, and AI models updated and validated to promote accurate and useful Section 508 compliance feedback?
3. How transparent is your accessibility tooling to the average user who is not an accessibility specialist? What level of expertise and system interaction is required for IT staff with elevated permissions as administrators/managers in the tool?

Prior Government Experience

1. Can you meet our requirements as a single entity, or would you take a teaming partner to cover all Core Tooling Capability and content in scope?
2. Please provide at least one (1) prime example within the past 1-3 years that you have provided an equivalent tool to a federal department or agency?
3. If you have provided a non-AI-enabled (in other words, a “legacy” or “rule-based”) enterprise-class accessibility testing tool to a federal department or agency in the past 1-3 years, do you have an approach for moving that department or agency to an AI-enabled tool? Please describe that approach.
4. Does the tool have a System Security Plan (SSP) or Authority To Operate (ATO) documentation available?
5. Is the tool available as SaaS, on-premises, or both? Is a FedRAMP-authorized version available?
6.  Is the tool compliant with OMB AI guidance and relevant federal AI policies?
7. How is scanned content protected, particularly for sensitive or pre-publication government content?

Submission Details

Submissions shall reference RFI No. OAA-26-00311 –AI Enabled Accessibility Tooling” in the subject line.

Interested parties who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later than 05/22/2026 at 10:00AM EDT to [email protected] and [email protected].

Interested parties should respond to the areas of concerns cited under the “INDUSTRY FEEDBACK” section of this document. No page limitations for responses. 

Questions and comments regarding this requirement will be accepted and reviewed.  The Government will provide answers if the Government determines responses are warranted.

Submissions must include

1. Company Capabilities Statement
2. Responses to all questions cited in “Industry Feedback” section of this RFI
3. Business name and address
4. Name of company representative and their business title
5. Type of Business
6. Business Size
7. Socio-economic Status; and
8. UEI and DUNS Numbers

The Government may request a demonstration of software suite applications and solutions at their discretion.  Vendors may be notified once reviews of RFI submissions are completed.

Proprietary Information

Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All government personnel reviewing RFI responses understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described 41 USC 423.

The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified.

DISCLAIMER

THIS RFI IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTES/PROPOSALS. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT.  RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS POSTING.  NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS POSTING.  ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.